Weekly Wanderings

Each week, I read a wide variety of blog posts and articles across the internet. I wander here and wander there and before I know it I’ve spent an eternity avoiding all the work that I should have been doing by reading other people’s writing. I share my favorites here with you each week in the Weekly Wanderings link round-up. Enjoy!

9 Alternatives to NaNoWriMo – Writer’s Relief. I always want to participate in NaNoWriMo but I’m not a writer of fiction. I’ve done NaBloPoMo in the past, and I’ve really enjoyed it. I’m intrigued by 750 Words & A Round of Words in 80 Days.

…Winfrey’s venture is, in fact, a brilliant investment, although not necessarily for the reason she thinks. It’s brilliant not because Weight Watchers works but because it doesn’t. It’s the perfect business model. People give Weight Watchers the credit when they lose weight. Then they regain the weight and blame themselves. This sets them up to join Weight Watchers all over again, and they do.

Mississippi Madness: Expat Life in America’s Weirdest State – Richard Grant for The Telegraph. I tell people all the time that I never in a million years thought that Mississippi was where I was going to wind up, but now that I’m here, I can’t really imagine anywhere else…except maybe New Orleans. That weirdness of the Delta? It exists all over the state, although it is more pronounced in the Delta. This place is rich in ways that cannot pay the rent, and I dearly love it – warts and all.

30 Minutes of Pure Focus at a Time – Zen and Pi. I frequently revert to my Pomodoro timer because I notice that I have a really hard time staying focused. I’ve actually been talking to my students about it…focusing intensely for a short period of time and then taking a break. If I can’t fight it, I may as well help kids (& myself) learn to work with it.

Stop Taking Pictures of Memories You Aren’t Really Making – Liv& Leen. This. I have stopped taking my Big Girl Camera to events and happenings because I realized that it was taking me out of the moment. I was so focused on taking photos that I wasn’t enjoying what was happening. It’s an important message.

8 Lessons Learned Studying World-Class Achievers – Marty Fukuda for Entrepreneur. There are lots of these that I could stand to incorporate into my life. I know that there is much more I could achieve; I know this blog could go to bigger places. I could have a bit more focus.

The Dance and Danger of Social Media – Jamie Ridler Studios. I try not to make the life I have seem to “perfect” because it’s not. Far from it. There are struggles every day, but on the whole, I like to believe that it is a pretty amazing life. I woke up most mornings and marvel that there are so many wonderful things in my here and now. It makes a difference to me. It is a delicate balance, though. I don’t share everything because I know I am mercurial. There are many times when I don’t know if I’m upset about something because I should be upset about it or if it’s just a whim that is bothering me.

When we live our lives as avatars rather than as people, the space between who we are and who we seem to be surrounds us with emptiness, an emptiness that fills with self-doubt, tears, pain, rage and numbness. The pain increases the more we build our life on what is not not true. Playing a perfect role reinforces to our hearts that there is something wrong with us, something about us that needs to be hidden away.

On Wealth – Morgan Loves You. (thanks for sharing Sarah!) These are lessons that it has taken me a long time to learn. I’d give you a quote from this post, but I’d be quoting most of it. But the truth is that we always do have a choice. Once I realized that I had a choice, it made all of the tough things more difficult. I try to remind my students about this, too – that they have a choice.

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I'm a teacher, writer, and photographer capturing the magical moments of life on the Mississippi Gulf Coast - putting my experience as a teacher and educational staff developer to work crafting stories that chronicle an experience well-lived.

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All content - pictures and text - unless otherwise noted, is my creation. All content on this site is the property of Jennifer Allen - Owner & Creator of Pierced Wonderings. Duplication and/or unauthorized use of any content on this site without express written permission is strictly prohibited.